CONNECT WITH US

GET NFFE E-NEWS

NFFE and 23 Other Unions Call on Special Counsel to Assist Agency Staff in Resisting Illegal Trump Directives

Friday, June 22, 2018

Washington,
D.C. – This week, the National
Federations of Federal Employees (NFFE) joined
a coalition of labor organizations representing
hundreds of thousands of federal
employees in expressing their concerns about
potential punitive actions against
federal labor relations (LR) professionals. In
a letter to Special Counsel
Henry Kerner, NFFE and others advised the
Office of the Special Counsel (OSC)
to monitor the potential impacts of President
Trump’s recent Executive Orders,
including the evident possibility that LR
professionals will be pressured to violate
existing federal law.

“Having a
professional relationship with
management is crucial to the success of
agencies’ missions,” stated Randy
Erwin, NFFE National President. “President
Trump’s attack on collective
bargaining places this relationship at risk, as
labor relations professionals may
face consequences for continuing to engage in
good faith bargaining,” he
said.

The letter also
emphasized the need to
protect labor representatives who wish to
negotiate “with a sincere resolve to
reach a collective bargaining agreement,” as
required by the Federal Service
Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMR).
Special Counsel Kerner was also
urged to encourage employees to blow the
whistle on administration officials
who pressure labor-management professionals to
violate federal laws established
40 years ago to prevent inefficiencies
and
political exploitation within the Executive
Branch

“It is truly
unfortunate that President Trump
has directed employees to disregard established
law,” Erwin continued.“As we
continue to fight these attacks on
federal employees and the unions that represent
them, NFFE will do everything
possible to ensure that civil servants are able
to their jobs ethically and
without fear of political retaliation.”